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Hall of Famer

Phyllis Griffiths

Inducted in 2015

Member Details

Date of Birth: 1905

Date of Passing: 1978

Sport: Sport Journalist

Member Category: Builder

Story

When Phyllis Griffiths graduated from high school in 1921 at 16 years of age she immediately started work at the Toronto Telegram assigned to the city beat reporting on everything from sports to crime. Phyllis rode around on her bicycle dropping in at local schools, churches, police stations, and fire halls to develop valuable contacts that helped her keep on top of what was happening.

Phyllis was a pioneer in women’s sports writing and in 1928 she had her own sports column at the Telegram called “The Girl and the Game.” She wrote the column covering local, national, and international women’s sports for fourteen years, between 1928 and 1942. Phyllis was also directly involved as a sports administrator, coach and official in the Toronto area and used her column to advocate for women athletes and their sports. In 1942 Phyllis became the first woman to be the photo editor of a Canadian newspaper. All throughout her career she combined her role in reporting with her life’s passion of advocating for injustices to be righted. Phyllis’ entire 46 year journalism career was with the Toronto Telegram where she retired in 1967.